ARLINGTON — Dez the Destroyer of Defenses was nowhere to be found Sunday. But he hasn’t shown up much at AT&T Stadium this season anyway.

Dez the Disruptor of Sideline Meetings was not on hand, either. In the end, all the Cowboys really needed was one big play down the middle from their best receiver. Dez the Decoy did the rest as the Cowboys rallied to avoid a season-changing loss and defeated Minnesota, 27-23.

Dez Bryant’s 34-yard catch on Dallas’ final drive — the longest gain on 59 receptions for both teams — set up Tony Romo’s 7-yard, game-winning pass to Dwayne Harris. Bryant finished with six catches for 64 yards, which may not be anything special for an elite receiver. But for some reason, it’s exactly what Dallas needs this season.

If Bryant catches a touchdown pass, the Cowboys are 1-4. If he catches passes for 70 or more yards, they are 1-4. Keeping in mind this team now stands at 5-4, somehow the Cowboys excel when they share the wealth and take advantage of the double coverage Bryant tends to attract.

And that was the case against the Vikings.

Go back and check Cole Beasley’s six catches for 68 yards. On most of them, he was in the slot to Bryant’s side, often drawing a linebacker while the safety rolled over to help the cornerback on Dez.

Who would have guessed the Cowboys would finally turn their new palace into a home-field advantage by not featuring their most talented player? In the Cowboys’ four wins at home, Bryant has totaled 160 receiving yards and one touchdown that came in a blowout win over St. Louis.

But had Dallas not managed to extricate itself from the grave it was digging Sunday, Dez Talk would have been just as loud this week as last and probably even more hysterical.

Bryant made a huge mistake on a third-down play in the third quarter, removing his helmet to argue a call, drawing a flag that knocked Dallas out of field goal range and forced a punt when the score was 20-17.

Bryant said he didn’t know taking his helmet off would get him penalized, adding, “I’ll learn from it.”

The play prompted referee Jeff Triplette to offer this explanation to the crowd, “Pass interference, No. 88 of the offense. That penalty is declined. Now as I was about to make the announcement, unsportsmanlike conduct, No. 88 of the offense, taking his helmet off and arguing with the official. That penalty will be enforced. It will be fourth down.”

It was the most engaging I’ve heard a Cowboys game referee since a 1989 coin toss at Texas Stadium when Pat Haggerty announced, “Captains from Dallas, meet the captains from Washington; captains from Washington, meet Liz Taylor and Jerry Jones.”

Head coach Jason Garrett called it “a bad play for [Dez]; you can’t do that. Gave them the unsportsmanlike [penalty] that knocked us out of field goal range. We needed to get points on that drive.”

The Cowboys were penalized for only 45 yards Sunday, so one-third of them came on Dez’s mistake.

Bryant said he was conscious of avoiding a repeat of last week’s much discussed sideline antics, but he had a costly drop in the fourth quarter at the Vikings’ 30 yard-line that forced a punt just before Minnesota claimed a 23-20 lead.

So when Bryant made his big 34-yard catch with 1:30 to play, he said, “All I could think about was the pass I had dropped before that. In my mind, I was like, ‘I’ve got to make up for that.’”

When the game began, it looked like a big day for Bryant was in store. On the Cowboys’ first four plays, he caught two passes for 16 yards — one more catch than he had in the first half against Detroit.

And in the end, he was targeted 11 times. That’s more than any other receiver for either team. But two of Romo’s throws were behind him (one was probably catchable), one was the pass Bryant got called for interference and another long toss landed out of bounds.

So Bryant had a good, not great, game statistically while personally stopping two second-half drives with a penalty and dropped pass.

You’d say this team needs more from its best receiver if not for the fact that this is exactly what works for Dallas in 2013. Dwayne Harris, Terrance Williams, even cornerback Brandon Carr score the game-winning or key touchdowns. Dez draws double teams, makes contributions but stays relatively quiet on and off the field.

It’s a winning formula in the NFL for the first-place Cowboys. Accept it, roll with it and don’t ask too many questions.

Follow Tim Cowlishaw on Twitter at @TimCowlishaw

Traveling man

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant has been more productive on the road this season than at AT&T Stadium:

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.